Chapter 8 Public reporting and information-sharing Public reporting may be viewed as both the first and last step of a process in which trial-monitoring serves as a tool to support the development of the rule of law consistent with a state’s domestic and international legal obligations and commitments. On the one hand, reports, as the culmination of monitoring efforts, are the tangible final product of the trial-monitoring programme and the physical vehicle to providing the findings and conclusions of monitoring. On the other hand, the issuance of a report is only a first step in a wider strategy related to the underlying purpose and role of a monitoring programme in a given domestic context. As a result, reports must always be viewed as part of a wider advocacy strategy that seeks not only to inform, but also to engage and influence local authorities and other stakeholders on the need for, and direction of, future reforms. This chapter provides an overview of different types of reports issued by OSCE programmes. Strategies related to the preparation of reports are also addressed, including operational issues related to the drafting of reports and best practices for ensuring regular reporting and making reports more effective. Issues related to other forms of information-sharing are also discussed, including information-sharing controls and non-public reporting. 8.1 Public reporting Within the OSCE framework, a primary output of trial-monitoring programmes is the production of public reports that contain the findings and conclusions of trial-monitoring, as well as recommendations. Though reports are public in the sense that they are freely available, the legal nature of trial-monitoring reports means public reporting is not usually aimed at the general public, but at those bodies and individuals that have official responsibilities for the functioning of the legal system, as well as organizations and individuals interested in justice-sector reform. Such groups include legislators, justice ministry officials, the judiciary, prosecutors and police, local lawyers, and other local institutions involved in the criminal justice process. Reports also serve to inform international and national organizations engaged in supporting reforms, including international and local NGOs, international treaty-based and political organizations, and donor organizations. Depending on the purpose of monitoring, the media may also be a secondary target of reporting. Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners 103